


The Dog At The Party

by ThyOblivion



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: An Actual Dog, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort, Gen, Hayden Comes Back, Liam's bit of a goof, Lots of Angst, Oneshot, Theo is lonely, Theo is soft, but its not really anything romantic, kind of, liam dunbar has a dog, no its not nolan, sorry gang, theo likes being in wolf form, thiam if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:20:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26514343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThyOblivion/pseuds/ThyOblivion
Summary: Everyone knows the trope.  "The guy who comes to the party just to hang out with the dog."  Theo didn't think he'd ever be that guy.  Apparently he was, since he took it to a whole new level.Or, in other words.Multiple awkward decisions lead to angst and even more awkward decisions.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Comments: 3
Kudos: 68





	The Dog At The Party

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a short soft drabble to make someone feel better but almost 2k words of angst later, here we are.  
> Also apologies but I wrote this mid manic episode, running on no sleep and without a beta so. Sucks to suck I guess.

Tapping his finger on the wheel, Theo listened in to the rumble of the engine as he drove his truck through the empty roads of Beacon Hills. Wasn’t surprising that it was empty. Having already passed midnight, most people were in bed. Yeah.  _ Most  _ people.

Unfortunately for him, almost everyone he knew wasn't in bed. Instead they were all over at the party Liam was throwing. Some sort of “welcome home” thing for Hayden. And yeah sure, he supposes it’s a normal thing to celebrate. The return of someone close to you. But in reality, despite being a former packmate, Theo didn't feel all that close to Hayden. He didn't feel all that close to anyone.

Or at least that's what he told himself. But, clearly, that wasn't all that true either. Because if he wasn't all that close to anyone, he wouldn't be driving to Liam’s house, well after midnight. Yet here he was. 

Parking his truck near the house, he looked down at his keys for a while. Was this really worth it? The party started hours ago. He didn't even care about the person the party was for. The only reason he had even considered coming here was for the person throwing it and… well that was a can of worms he wasn't going to open. 

Thinking over it for a little while, he finally sighed before getting out of the truck and walking over to the front door. The music was down low - enough for it to still be loud for the supernatural, but not enough to bother any human neighbours - but he could still see the lights and hear the voices from inside. 

Hovering his hand over the door, he went to knock before deciding against it. Sliding his hand down and opening the door, he stepped into the room and took a look around. A couple people had turned to look at him, but the majority had ignored him. That's how it usually was now. Ally to the pack or not, it wasn't necessary for anyone here to like Theo, and they knew it. Well, it didn't take long for him to regret coming to this party, but it was too late now.

Swallowing down the faint pang of loneliness, Theo walked further into the house, keeping his senses out for Liam. Despite being a well trained supernatural, it was hard to try and distinguish him out of all the other smells and noises. Still, it didn't take that long.

Walking into the main hallway of the house, Theo caught sight of Liam leaning against the wall with his side, talking to someone out of view. Giving a shake to his shoulders and plastering on the same stupid trademark Theo smirk, he started to walk through the hall.

For a grand total of maybe 5 seconds. Lucky ol’ Theo got to stop right in his tracks as he realised who exactly Liam was talking to. Hayden. In hindsight, yeah this is something he probably should’ve expected. 

Did he however?

No. No he did not. 

So, instead of doing the smart thing, pretending it's fine and going to talk to Liam anyway, Theo decided to do the next best thing.

Make a sharp turn into the nearest room and quickly slam the door shut behind you.

Well, he never really was that great at subtlety. 

Taking a deep breath, he tried to survey his surroundings and figure out exactly where he had just landed himself for (probably) the rest of the party. And, as always, Theo just never was one for good luck either.

Liam’s bedroom. Theo had practically just ran into Liam’s bedroom, and was now  _ stuck _ in Liam’s bedroom. And in some ironic timing, Theo was sure he could hear Stiles’s laugh from somewhere else in the house. Yeah. Karma sure is a bitch.

What really caught him off guard however, was the small German Shepherd laying on the bed and staring up at him. Huh. So Liam had a dog. He had picked up the scent before sure, but he never spoke about it, so he hadn't really thought about it.

Figuring he was already stuck in the room, Theo decided he may as well spend the rest of the night with a dog, so he walked over to the bed and crouched down, staring back into the dogs eyes. 

Despite being sort of an animal himself, Theo actually had very limited interactions with them. And he sure as hell had no idea how he was supposed to do this. Was he supposed to flash his eyes? Show dominance? Act uninterested until it comes over to him?

Huffing out a sigh, Theo got down onto his knees, relaxing his body and looking at the dog. Maybe the dog would do something first and he could go from there. Yeah that seemed like a good idea.

Emphasis on ‘seemed’ as when it reached the 5th minute of staring at each other, it was clear this wasn't going anywhere. Reaching his hand out, he hesitated above the dogs fur, waiting for some sort of sign that this was wanted or unwanted. After no signs of sudden vengeful dog shenanigans however, it seemed safe enough, so Theo began to pet the dog, taken off guard when the dog reached over to lick at his hand.

Finally letting himself smile at the situation, he relaxed and brought his other arm up, ruffling along the dogs fur and making small rumbling noises at it, which it seemed to like.

He wasn't sure exactly how or when it happened, but after his eyes started to glow in response to the dogs barking, Theo found himself slipping into his wolf form. It caught him a little off guard, but once he realised this gave him access to play with the other more, it didn't feel like it mattered all that much. 

And so he did. He and the shepherd ran around the room, play wrestling and nudging at each other. It was fun. And it didn't take long for Theo to lose track of time. 

Sometime after the two had started, the door opened as someone walked into the room, grumbling about how “a dog cant just stay quiet during a party”. Recognising the voice as Liam however, Theo started to short circuit. He couldn’t just come out of wolf form, because then he would be naked in Liam’s room. But he couldn't hide anywhere either, since almost the entire room was empty bar from a desk and the bed. 

In his moment of panic, he had started whining and backing up against the wall without fully processing it. By this point, Liam had froze in the centre of his room, staring between the two.

“How the hell did a stray dog get into my bedroom.”

Sighing, he turned to his actual dog, and crossed his arms as if they would understand the annoyed body language.

Shaking his head, he started to walk towards Theo, getting ready to pick him up or chase him out the house, he wasn't sure which. He got stopped however, by the sight of his dog walking in front of Theo and growling at Liam. Well, shit. Didn't see that one coming. 

“What is up with y-”

Liam’s annoyed dog parent speech was cut off by Hayden walking into the room to find Liam.

“Hey someone said Theo was here but disappeared. Did you invite him?”

Opening his mouth and closing it a few times, Liam tried to come up with an excuse or reasoning. And failed. Miserably. Being met with Hayden’s disappointed eyes didn't help.

“He’s not your problem anymore, Liam. You don't  _ need _ to keep him around. None of the rest of us do.”

The harsh truth to her voice passed through the room and was met with silence for a while. After several awkward moments of nothing, Liam spoke up to reply, avoiding what she said.

“What do you mean ‘disappeared’?”

Rolling her eyes, Hayden rubbed at her eyebrow in frustration.

“Someone saw him come this way and nobodys seen him since. People are worried he’s up to something.”

Trying to ignore the sting of everything he had heard, Theo now had his face buried into his paws, eyes turning gold as he watched it all unfold in front of him.

“Yeah well I haven't seen him either. Just go look around the other rooms, I’ll-”

Liam stopped talking as his eyes met with Theo’s glowing ones. Watching the gears click into place behind his eyes, Theo decided maybe staying in hell would've been a better choice.

“...Nevermind, I guess. I uh… I found him.”

It was obvious he had a lot of questions he wanted to ask, but he didn't ask any of them, instead just turning to Hayden.

“Go find some people to talk to. It’s your party. You should have some fun.”

“And why am  _ I _ supposed to leave?”

“Because… because you don't want to see him naked?”

“Oh and you do?”

Stuttering over his words, Liam shoved Hayden out the door and furrowed his eyebrows before turning back to where Theo and the German Shepherd were sitting together.

His eyebrows basically forming a line above his eyes now, Liam slowly made his way over, looking like he was worried to make a wrong move.

“What are you doing here, Theo?”

As if to answer his question, a chorus of cheers rang through the house.

“So… what, you came to the party to play with my dog?”

It sounded like it was meant to be said with a sneer, but by now, Liam was just grinning like an idiot.

Theo was just staring at the ground, faint whines stuck in his throat. Noticing his distress, Liam stepped forward and let his hand rest behind Theo’s ear, scratching lightly at the fur.

“Hey, it’s alright. I don't really blame you. She’s a good dog.”

Panting in reply, said dog nuzzled her nose into his side before walking off to fall asleep in the corner of the room.

Continuing to scratch and pet his fur, Liam thought on what to say, not entirely sure what was supposed to happen here.

“Do you want to come out of wolf form?”

The answer was fairly quick, Theo shaking his head faintly. And it was true. He didn't want to. Over time, being in wolf form had started to be a source of comfort for him, and by now he wasn’t convinced he could go back without starting to sob.

Returning to silence, the 2 sat in each other's company for a short while, just the sound of fur being scratched and sparse reminders of the ongoing party down the hall to fill the room.

“The party will be over soon. If you want to stay the night, you're free to.”

After letting him know, he smiled down at Theo, and stood up to signal he could climb into the bed for some comfort.

Being still too scared to move, Theo watched as Liam backed out the room, turning off the light as he left, the room turning to almost complete darkness.

Once he was sure he was gone, Theo stood up from his position backed next to the wall, and leapt up onto the bed. It took less time than he’d probably like to admit before he was comfortable and starting to doze off in the bed. The bed of his ally. Or his friend. Or whatever the hell else you could call this strange relationship. But reality was, he was much too tired to try and concentrate on labels and meanings. So instead, he let himself drift off to sleep, only stirring faintly when hours later he felt the mattress dip from beside him and a familiar hand lay flat on his fur.

Yeah. Maybe he didn't regret coming to this party that much after all.


End file.
